ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026 - the country's largest technology gathering - opened today at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) complex and will run through September 25, bringing together international and local IT companies, investors, startups, government agencies, and representatives of the global tech industry.
This year's edition has expanded its international footprint considerably. Organizers expect participants from more than 70 countries and over 25,000 visitors, including roughly 2,000 guests from abroad. The exhibition will feature solutions from more than 200 organizations, while the business program will bring together over 200 speakers and experts.
National pavilions will showcase companies and technology organizations from the United States, China, Japan, Georgia, Oman, Turkey, Tajikistan, and other countries. International firms and local startups will also present their products and solutions throughout the week.
In recent years, ICTWEEK has evolved from an industry trade show into an international platform for discussing venture investment, IT services exports, the launch of international companies in Uzbekistan, startup development, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, outsourcing, and digital infrastructure. The four-day business program includes major summits, forums, conferences, technology competitions, and pitch sessions.
Day One
The event opens with an official ceremony and a tour of the ICT Expo 2026 exhibition. The Startup & Venture Summit will bring together startup founders, investors, venture funds, accelerators, corporations, and government representatives to discuss growing the startup ecosystem, attracting investment, scaling internationally, and helping tech companies break into global markets.
The same day will host the Uzbek–Japan Digital Community Forum, uniting government officials, tech companies, investors, and innovation ecosystem representatives from both countries to focus on digital cooperation, investment projects, and opportunities for companies from both nations to enter new markets. Over the past two years, the number of Japanese companies holding IT Park resident status has grown from 2 to 25, and the forum is expected to build on that momentum by fostering direct ties between businesses, investors, and tech organizations from both countries.
Day Two
The second day opens with the Enterprise Uzbekistan Summit, focused on positioning Uzbekistan as an emerging technology jurisdiction. Discussions will center on legal certainty, institutional infrastructure, and the conditions needed to attract international tech companies and investment. The program includes remarks from Enterprise Uzbekistan representatives, keynote presentations from EY and BDO experts, a fireside chat featuring IT Park Uzbekistan and Enterprise Uzbekistan, and a panel discussion titled "Rethinking Jurisdictions for the Global Technology Economy." Panelists will examine why international companies are choosing to do business in Uzbekistan, how responsibilities are divided among key institutions in the ecosystem, and what regulatory conditions are needed to sustain the growth of the tech economy.
The day also includes the OTS Technology Forum and the Tech & Service Outsourcing Conference, where international companies and industry experts will discuss the growth of IT outsourcing, business process outsourcing (BPO), global business services (GBS), and service centers in Uzbekistan. In the first half of 2026, 608 export-oriented companies joined IT Park — a 178% increase over the same period last year. IT Park residents now export IT services and digital products to 102 countries.
A session titled "AI Threats to Education & Employment" will examine the impact of artificial intelligence on education, professional skills, and the labor market. Representatives from Amazon Web Services, Coursera, iFlytek, Alibaba Cloud, and OX Group will discuss cloud infrastructure for AI projects, multilingual AI models, AI model-as-a-service offerings, business process automation, and preparing workers for the jobs of the future. One of the day's marquee events is the Global Startup Ecosystem Awards 2026, organized by StartupBlink in partnership with IT Park Uzbekistan. For the first time in its history, the ceremony will be held in person — and Uzbekistan will be the first country to host it.
StartupBlink named Uzbekistan its 2026 Country of the Year; the nation climbed 19 spots this year to rank 79th globally, while Tashkent rose 121 places to rank 229th, making it Central Asia's highest-ranked startup city.
Day Three
One of the day's centerpiece events is the regional final of the Startup World Cup 2026. Fifteen selected tech startups will pitch their products, business models, market potential, and growth strategies to investors and international experts. The competing projects span artificial intelligence, fintech, SaaS, deep tech, consumer technology, and other fields. The winner will represent Uzbekistan at the global final in San Francisco and compete for a $1 million investment prize.
The Startup World Cup is run by Silicon Valley-based Pegasus Tech Ventures, which manages more than $2 billion in assets and holds a portfolio of over 300 investments, including 88 exits and 29 IPOs. Since 2017, the Startup World Cup platform has brought together more than 50,000 participants, 2,500 investors, and 500 speakers across more than 100 regional competitions worldwide.
The Tashkent final will also include a Speed-Dating session with 40 meeting tables, giving startups the chance to connect directly with investors and potential partners, pitch their projects, and explore partnership opportunities.
The regional final is organized by Pegasus Tech Ventures and Don't Settle, in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Technologies, IT Park Uzbekistan, and IT Park Ventures. The same day will also host the Uzbekistan–Middle East Tech Summit, focused on technology and investment cooperation between Uzbekistan and Middle Eastern countries, along with SABRIYA, a platform dedicated to women's entrepreneurship and leadership in the tech industry. Participants and invited experts will discuss the role of women in the digital economy, the growth of women-led tech companies, and opportunities for launching new ventures.
Final Day Four
The final day is dedicated to cloud computing, artificial intelligence, startups, and the gaming industry. AWS Community Day Uzbekistan will bring together more than 500 developers, cloud specialists, and tech enthusiasts, with more than 15 speakers on the agenda, including Amazon Web Services Vice President and Chief Evangelist Jeff Barr. Technical sessions will cover serverless computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, Amazon SageMaker, Amazon Bedrock, containers, DevOps, cybersecurity, and modern cloud architecture.
The day also features the Ignyte AI Challenge 2026, the GameGap gaming industry event, and a special edition of the TAQDIMOT startup showcase, organized by AloqaVentures. As part of TAQDIMOT, selected startups will present their products and business models to investors and venture fund representatives, receive expert feedback, and explore potential investment and partnership opportunities.
ICTWEEK's growing international scope reflects a broader trend: Uzbekistan's deepening integration into the global technology economy. For foreign companies, the country is emerging not only as a growing market in its own right, but as a potential base for expanding across Central Asia.
For Uzbek companies, ICTWEEK offers direct access to international clients, investors, and technology partners — connections that could serve as a springboard for raising capital, signing export contracts, and entering new markets.
The intersection of capital and promising projects, of international demand and local expertise, of global companies and regional opportunity, has become one of the central themes of ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026.
ICTWEEK Uzbekistan 2026 runs from September 22 to 25 at the Central Asian Expo Uzbekistan (CAEx) in Tashkent.
The official program and registration are available at www.ictweek.uz.
